The Children of Egypt
by merf78
Summary: Camp Half Blood is faced with a new group of demigods that have the ability to become their greatest ally or their worst enemy.
1. Chapter 1

My spinoff of Percy Jackson series. It takes place after the Lost Hero (the first book in the second series). I don't own anything. I took some liberties with mythology and stuff.

Chapter I-The Messenger

When Percy remembered it later, he would say that it all started when the messenger appeared at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

The messenger was of average height, about five foot eight, fit, looked about fifteen years old, and seemed to be Latino with tan skin and dark curly hair. He was wearing a loose white t shirt and brown cargo shorts, as well as a long black cape. He held a wooden walking stick in his right hand, a scroll in his left, and was surveying the hill confidently. Percy figured he had to have been a half blood because of the sword on his belt, but he had never seen him before.

The messenger spotted Percy and waved him over. Hesitantly, Percy looked around. It was dark, and everyone else was in their cabins. Percy was only outside because he needed some time alone, especially as he had just gotten his memory back. There was so much he needed to mull over. Absentmindedly, he grasped his lethal pen Riptide. If this guy was trouble, Percy decided, he wouldn't suspect Percy of being able to defend himself.

"I demand to see Chiron immediately," The messenger ordered. Percy was taken by surprise at the powerful and somewhat harsh tone.

"Who're you?" Percy asked.

"My name is Enrique, but that is not important. What is important, however, is that I see Chiron right _now._" Percy shrugged.

"I'm Percy. And fine, I'll take you. But walk in front of me, where I can see you." He added as an afterthought. Enrique grinned a wily smile, as if he approved of Percy's suspicion.

"Very well, although it will be difficult for you to lead me there if you are following _me._" Percy groaned inwardly at the logic.

"Side by side," He compromised.

In the few minutes it took to get to the Big House, neither of them said a word. The messenger didn't even look at Percy once, focused on only the path. Percy on the other hand, stole several glances at Enrique, trying to figure out his parentage.

"Chiron?" Percy called hesitantly at the door. "Chiron? He added loudly, deciding not to care about disturbing anyone's sleep, an offense that would probably have gotten him blasted to pieces if Mr. D was still in charge. Through the door, Percy heard the clip-clop of horse hooves, and Chiron opened the door. The centaur was wearing a long bathrobe and an eye mask.

"How can I help you, Percy?" He asked, not sounding the least bit annoyed. Then he saw Enrique. His eyes narrowed, lingering on the walking stick.

"My name is Enrique. I bear a message for the director of Camp Half-Blood." Enrique said confidently, emphasizing his words by pounding the walking stick on the ground. When he moved the stick, Chiron actually flinched.

"Well," Chiron said. "You better come inside. Percy, go get Annabeth, and return here. Don't worry about me." He opened the door wide so the messenger could come inside, and closed it before Percy could say a word.

Two minutes later, Percy returned with Annabeth, who had become instantly alert when he had told her about the strange messenger. They entered the threshold of the Big House to find an argument taking place between the two.

"We will get our due, centaur!" Enrique yelled, smashing his fist. They were talking over the conference table where meetings were held. The walking stick was propped up in a corner. The scroll of parchment lay between them, and on closer inspection Percy could see it was made out of something he had never seen before.

"What's the scroll made out of?" He asked Annabeth softly.

"Papyrus," She replied.

It was then that the two noticed Percy and Annabeth's presence.

"Hello children," Chiron said, controlling his voice. "As you know by now, we have a visitor. I am afraid, however, that we do not see eye to eye at the moment. May I introduce-"

"Enrique Leon, son of Anubis, Egyptian god of funerals."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II-

Percy and Annabeth stared at the newcomer.

"But that's impossible," She said. "There are no Egyptian demigods. The Egyptians didn't have demigod children like the Greeks."

Enrique's nostril's flared and he glared at Chiron, as if to say, "That is my point!"

"Of course the Egyptians had demigod children like the Greek gods. They were just another form of the Greek gods, like the Romans. The first time Typhon attempted to destroy the gods, most of them ran off to Egypt, where they took on new shapes. Hermes became my father, Anubis, for example."

"But then why are there no stories of Egyptian demigods?" She countered. Enrique scowled, but said nothing. Instead, Chiron took over.

"Annabeth, when Rome conquered Egypt, there was a war between the demigods of those two nations. When the Romans emerged victorious, they inflicted a heavy punishment of the Egyptians for resisting them. They decreed that the deeds of the Children of Egypt would become forgotten, that the entire pantheon of demigods would fade into obscurity, and never again would the son or daughter of an Egyptian deity be recognized for what they did. And so, no stories of them exist to this day."

"That sounds harsh," Percy said.

"Harsh?" Enrique spat. "Yes, I think so."

"So what are your demands?" Annabeth asked, although she had an idea.

"My kind recognizes the stirrings of Mother Earth, although we know the Earth as Geb, a male god. We know the threat that she poses, to all of us. We know that you could greatly use our numbers and abilities to help overcome her. But we will refuse to do so until our curse is lifted. To add a bit of weight to our argument, we will wage war on your camp unless you meet our demands."

"That's not fair," Percy muttered.

"Want to talk to me about fairness, Son of Poseidon?" Enrique asked dangerously. "So what will it be Chiron?"

"You know as well as I do that we do not have the authority to revoke your curse. I don't know why you are talking to me. You _should_ be talking to the Romans."

"My kind will do no more direct dealings with the Romans than we would with any of our enemies. Do not try to fool me, Chiron. I know that you carry weight in the Roman hierarchy. You have the ability to influence them to revoke it if you wanted to."

"I am sorry, but I am not able to." Chiron said calmly. Percy had no idea what he was playing at. Wouldn't it be easier just to say yes? From what he had heard, the Egyptians were putting up a pretty decent offer. But Chiron did not apparently see what he saw, or maybe he saw more that Percy did.

"Then you leave me no choice. This has become a declaration of war." Enrique said, obviously holding his rage inside. He snatched the parchment and turned his back for a moment to collect his walking stick. When he turned around, he saw Chiron aiming a bow and arrow at his chest.

"I am afraid that I can not allow you to walk out of this house, in that case." Chiron said softly. Percy was surprised at the threat. It seemed unlike Chiron.

"What is the difference between one and the other?" Enrique asked. "To kill me is as good as to send a declaration of war yourself." Chiron did not answer. Percy looked at Annabeth, who pulled her knife out. Percy, unwilling to feel left out, uncapped Riptide.

"Very well," Enrique said slowly, and his walking stick began to change. It became a black scepter made of some kind of ore. At the top, there was delicately carved the head of a dog-like creature with glowing gem blue eyes.

"The _Was scepter,_" Annabeth breathed in a shocked tone. Percy couldn't blame her surprise, though if he had no idea what a was was. If that made sense. Only Chiron didn't seem surprised.

"That is not my only trick," Enrique said calmly. He looked up, and the black garment he was wearing that Percy had mistaken for a cape unfolded and extended into a pair of large, feathered wings. All of their eyes widened.

"I'm sure you've heard of the curse? 'Death will come on swift wings'? Well, _I am that death on swift wings._ So stand down, or face my wrath." Enrique said, and if Percy didn't know any better, he would say that the messenger was enjoying himself.

"Not likely," He countered, and ran at Enrique.


	3. Chapter 3

Next chapter in the story. This is in first person, from Percy's point of view. Please review.

Chapter 3-

Whatever else you could say about Enrique, he was fast. Ridiculously fast.

Whenever I brought my sword around, his was always there to meet it. While I hacked and slashed with both hands, he literally fought with both hands, passing his sword from on to the other to deflect my blade. It took me a moment to realize that his sword itself was odd. From the hilt, it was straight, but after about a foot it curved like a scimitar. And Enrique knew how to use it.

People tell me that I'm a very decent swordsman, but Enrique was the best I'd fought since Luke. And at the same time, he was dodging arrows from Chiron's bow. Only Annabeth hung back, waiting for the opportunity to strike with her knife.

In the blink of an eye, Enrique sheathed his blade and drew his scepter, all in one fluid moment. He wielded it like a quarterstaff. Then suddenly, he stepped back and stopped attacking. The scepter's eyes began glowing.

"Percy, duck!" Annabeth yelled as a blast of blue energy tore a hole in the wall, exposing the open outside. Enrique seized his chance in the confusion, jumping six feet into the air, spreading his wings, and flying out the hole.

"Don't let him get away!" Chiron ordered, and the three of us ran out the hole. For some reason, instead of flying away, Enrique was soaring low to the ground, toward the climbing rock walls. I was kind of hoping the lava on the expert wall would get him, but unfortunately he chose the beginner wall. There he waited, bobbing in the air.

"What's he doing?" I wondered aloud.

"Doesn't matter," Annabeth muttered, and we ran towards him. The second his eyes met ours, he grinned wide in a way that made me feel really uneasy. He held his scepter in his right hand, spreading his arms wide. The eyes of his scepter began glowing again, and I tensed, preparing myself for another blast of energy. Suddenly, I felt a cold breeze, with what felt like minuscule grains of sand(?) hitting my face along with the breeze. The breeze became a howling wind, growing in intensiveness by the second.

"Percy," Annabeth muttered, and she sounded almost frightened. She pointed at our enemy.

"No way," I said aloud.

Enrique's scepter was floating in the air of its own accord beside him, the eyes still glowing an eerie blue. He was looking quite calm, despite what was going on.

The climbing wall was disintegrating, becoming a whirlwind, breaking down into billions of rotating grains of-

"Sand." Chiron muttered bitterly. "Always a specialty of theirs." Suddenly, Enrique spoke.

"You honestly didn't think I hadn't anticipated that it might come to this?" Enrique yelled over the howl of the growing sandstorm behind him, his voice condescending and angry. "That you might not go with our wishes? That you might try and _kill_ me? Well, I have one last surprise for you."

I heard a rustle in the woods around us. Fifteen campers in white shirts jumped out from the bushes. I recognized them from the various claiming ceremonies we'd had over the past week. Each one of them was aiming a bow and arrow at Chiron, Annabeth, and I.

"This is not good," I said unnecessarily.

"You think?" Annabeth spat.

"Drop your weapons!" Enrique yelled at us. We did as he said, no other choice available. "I have a feeling we will see each other again _very soon._" He finished.

In a blur of sand and blue energy, Enrique and his spies disappeared into the night. Annabeth, Chiron and I exchanged looks of horror at the thought of this new threat.


	4. Chapter 4

Percy's POV. Please review.

Chapter 4-

I woke up from the worst night he'd had in a long time. I was hoping that the events of last night had all been just a dream, but I should have known better.

There was a crowd around the climbing wall-or what was left of it, which wasn't much. Chiron was standing wearily on top of a gigantic sand dune, addressing the campers, warning them of the threat we now faced. There were a lot of shocked, panicked faces among the crowd. I was one of them.

How could we survive a second war with a group of demigods we knew nothing about. The impending giant battle was bad enough, and we were on shaky ground with the Romans already, but at least we were prepared. Not left reeling like a lone tourist mugged in New York City, like we were now. We couldn't take another problem. Not now. I was going to have to talk with Chiron about maybe agreeing to the Enrique's terms, even if I didn't exactly like the way he operated. But first, there was someone I wanted to talk to.

I rarely went to the temple in the back of the camp myself. Usually it was only the desperate unclaimed campers who went there, so naturally visits were dwindling since the promise that the gods had made when I was sixteen. So thus, I was alone in the enormous marble room. I knelt at the statue of a cheery looking guy with wings on his ankles and a staff entwined with serpents in his hands, a _caduceus_.

"Lord Hermes," I said reverently. (That's about the only way you can talk to a god without being blasted to smithereens.) "Please, I would like a word. It's about your son, Enrique Leon."

"For a moment there, I thought you were going to say Luke. Now, I kinda wish you had." A voice said suddenly from behind me. Sure enough, Hermes was there.

"Hello Lord Hermes," I said, straightening myself to look him in the eye. "And hello, George and Martha."

"_Hey, Percy,_" Martha said pleasantly.'

"_'Ssssup, Man._" George said casually. Hemes himself just nodded at me. Suddenly, his form began flickering. Before me stood a seven foot tall, bronzed man with the head of a jackal.

"Hermes...?" I asked.

"They call me Anubis in this form." He said softly. Even so, his voice was powerful, and sounded like a hundred of him were talking at the same time.

"Your son just declared war on the camp," I said accusingly. The god put his head down.

"I know. It would have been wiser to accept their demands."

"Well, we didn't. So what should we do?" I asked. Hermes/Anubis sighed.

"I know my son. He won't give in unless he gets what he wants. And to fight the Egyptians would be a very sorry move indeed. It would cost many lives, on both sides. And it would just increase the animosity as well." I nodded. War was not a good option. Suddenly, Anubis flickered back to his Hermes form for a moment.

"You have a message from Apollo. It would be in your best interests to visit Rachel at this moment. Now, I am sorry Percy, but I have to go." The god disappeared, leaving me with several unspoken questions. Where were the Egyptians located? How many forms did a god have? We didn't need any more surprises. I shook my head, and ran off toward Rachel's cave.

She met me halfway, apparently on the same brainwave.

"Percy!" She said hurriedly, shaking me by the shoulders. "There something I need to tell you-it's _really_ important! I just had another vision. Don't fight the Egyptians. We're going to need them if we want to win this war. So please, just make your peace before it's too late!"

An arrow struck the ground a foot in front of us, quivering in the dirt. We turned around, horrified. Enrique was standing at the top of Half Blood Hill, sword in hand, and I could see more campers in white shirts behind him, all armed and dangerous. He caught my eye and scowled.

"Charge!" He yelled, and dozens of demigods poured out from behind him. I had no idea how so many had managed to get here.

"I think this counts as 'too late,'" I said slowly, uncapping Riptide.


	5. Chapter 5

Third person narration. Please review, and thank you to everyone who has already done so.

Chapter Five-

"Strike for Egypt!" Enrique howled from the top of the hill as his army of demigods swarmed the camp. The campers struggled to grab weapons and armor to fight off the waves off enemy demigods. Percy was in the middle of the fray, fighting off three or four Egyptians at time, and making sure to guard his Achilles spot well. Rachel too was fighting, albeit reluctantly. She fought carelessly, as the divine weapons of the Egyptians were not able to harm her, as she was mortal. However, every opportunity she had, she would call out to Percy.

"You need to talk to him! The fighting has got to end!"

"Kind of busy at the moment!" Percy yelled back at her. But when she persisted, he finally gave in.

"Truce!" He yelled, as the five Egyptians he was fighting stabbed at him simultaneously, each missing. Suddenly, the whole camp went silent. Percy glared in Enrique's direction, where the latter was poised with his scepter, probably about to unleash a blast of energy. Slowly, Enrique lowered his weapon.

"I need a word," Percy said loudly. "Let's go to the Big House. Rachel, you come too." Enrique grudgingly followed them. However, when they reached the threshold of the door, he yelled out to his army in a strange language and drew a glowing blue symbol in the air with his scepter. The symbol grew in size and floated over to the center of the battlefield.

"That is to stop them from fighting," Enrique muttered. "A symbol of truce."

Chiron was already waiting for them inside.

"Great," Percy said. "Just the centaur we needed." He turned to Rachel. "Explain please?" He asked her. She nodded.

"I had a vision," She explained in a shaky breath. "I remember it vividly. It was a beautiful day, and I looked up at the sky. There was a large eagle low to the ground. Suddenly, it-I don't know how else to say it-_split_ into three different animals. There was another eagle, a wolf, and a phoenix. Before I knew it, the eagle and wolf were fighting the phoenix, and I couldn't tell exactly who was winning. But I did know that the fighting was wrong. The sky had gone dark and lightning was striking the ground. But then, just when I thought something _really_ bad was going to happen, the sky cleared. The animals were fighting a dragon, and together, they were able to destroy it. Then the scene changed. I was staring a city of marble, like Olympus. There was a gigantic pyramid, the Colosseum, and the Parthenon, all recreated. I stared at it a few moments, but then the city started crumbling, and I woke up."

Chiron nodded gravely. "Forgive me for interjecting my opinion, but I really feel compelled to attempt to interpret these visions."

"I already know what it means, we have to work together!" Rachel said hurriedly. Chiron nodded again.

"But I fear that these two are not so enlightened," He added, smiling, and I realized he was talking about Enrique and I.

"The eagle of course represents Greece, the wolf Rome, and the phoenix Egypt." Chiron sighed. "The Egyptians were always the most magical of the three, as I am sure you can tell by this young man's prowess in the arcane arts. When fighting, the creatures were divided, and the world was going awry. But when united, they were able to destroy the monster that is Gaea. I assume that when the city crumbled, Enrique must have been on his way here, making that vision of peace and perfection less likely. Young man, you really will have to show me how you manage to get around so quickly, and in such great numbers. I hope there will be time in this coming partnership."

"You mean..." Enrique said slowly, disbelieving.

"Oh yes. This vision of our oracle's has opened my eyes. I was...polluted before, my decision influenced by the memories of your kind's destructive capabilities. Hopefully we will be able to work past those, except of course for our common enemy. Rest assured, I will be able to convince the Romans to lift the punishment. You were right about that, at least."

Enrique was all smiles now, Percy could see. The strange new demigod extended his hand to Chiron and the others, Percy last. While still uneasy with the newcomer, Percy had experienced how powerful the Egyptians were and how great their numbers. They could use an ally like that.

"There is just one condition, I am sorry to say." Enrique said sheepishly.

"What would that be?" Percy asked coldly.

"Well, while you may have _me_ sold, the rest of my people will wish for you to prove your worthiness. There must be an initiation of sorts. It's no big deal. We just need nine of your number to undergo a few days of basic training at our camp. It would make a world of difference in the loyalty my kind would provide you with." He explained.

Chiron nodded.

"Done."


	6. Chapter 6

Next chapter. Third person narration. Please let me know what you think.

Chapter Five-

"_Nine of your number."_ Enrique had said. And so the the nine were decided, a ragtag group of the heroes of Camp Half Blood. Perseus Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Clarisse La Rue, Leo Valdez, Nico DiAngelo, Piper McLean, Jason and Thalia Grace, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare (surprisingly) had all been chosen. And Leo especially was absolutely thrilled to be one of them.

"We're the A-Team," He told the others as they waited for Enrique to come and teleport them to the camp. "We are the baddest of the bad, the best of the best-"

"Valdez?" Piper asked innocently.

"Yeah, beauty queen?"

"Put a sock in it."

"A sock _where_ exactly, you need to learn to be specific, beauty queen," Leo countered without missing a beat. Annoyed, Clarisse grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and lifted him a good six inches off the ground.

"Shut up, Leo," She said dangerously. Leo nodded vigorously.

"Yes sir. Ma'am. Which ever one you prefer. Just please don't kill me. I'll be quiet." When she set him down, Leo mimed locking his mouth and throwing away the key.

"You know," Clarisse mused. "I could get used to this one."

"Don't get too excited yet, Clarisse." Annabeth said. "I doubt that he'll stay that way for long. Anyway, are we all here?" She asked, counting the heads. "Percy, Valdez, me, Clarisse, Piper, Jason, Nico-where's Nico? There you are. Please stay away from shadows, it makes it really hard to see you. Where was I? Right, Rachel, and Thalia. Nine. Fantastic."

"Indeed," A voice said from behind them. They turned to see Enrique glide in lazily, holding his scepter. "Are we ready to go?" The others nodded. "Then let's go," He waved his scepter and there was a flash of blue energy, and the sensation of falling downward.

For a scary moment, Percy thought that Enrique had killed them all, but a second later, they were standing in the middle of a desert.

"Where are we?" Percy asked.

"Where has Egypt always been in relation to Greece? To the south. And so, we are in the south of the country, New Mexico to be exact. I am afraid that we have some walking to do. The borders of my camp make it impossible to get any closer than this." Enrique explained.

A half hour later under the heat of the sun, Enrique stopped the group.

"I see it," Rachel said, amazed. "It's incredible." The others looked around, confused.

"See what?" Leo asked. "There's just sand, sand, and let me check, more sand. In other words, nada."

Frustrated, Rachel turned to Enrique, who was standing at the front of the group. He smiled hesitantly.

"Would you all please come up to where I'm standing?" The others went and stood side by side next to Enrique. Suddenly, Percy felt a strange impulse to say a phrase that had just appeared in his head, but found himself unable to pronounce it. Judging from the looks of confusion on the other's faces, they were struggling with the same thing.

"I would strongly advise you all not to try and attempt to say the words," Enrique said loudly. "If anyone other than a child of Egypt were to say them, you would burn up into flames immediately. Now, take this," He said, giving them each a rag. "And cover your eyes, nose, and mouth. _Do not_ take it off until I say so." When he was satisfied that they had done as he asked, he turned to a small sand dune in front of them. The others felt a tension build in the air as he spoke the words that were on their minds.

The was a howl of winds, and sand erupted all around them. The ground quaking and shifting, they struggled to stay standing. And just as suddenly as it started, the sandstorm stopped.

"You can take off the rag now," Enrique said softly. One by one, they did as he said. And couldn't believe their eyes.

In front of them was an enormous stone pyramid at least seventy stories high. It had emerged from the sand where it had been completely hidden.

"Welcome to my home, Camp Tut." Enrique said, spreading his arms wide.

…...

Enrique led them to the entrance of the pyramid, a set of double doors large enough for a giant to walk through with room left over.

"This is amazing," Annabeth said. "I've always admired ancient Egyptian architecture."

"Thank you," Enrique said, beaming. "I will show you to your rooms, but first, you must meet the camp director."

"Sure," Piper said brightly. "Let's go."

…...

Enrique led them down so many flights of stairs, Leo felt that pretty soon the mole people would be knocking on the doors. But still they kept going, until they reached a small metal sliding door that looked like an elevator.

"The camp director lives _here_? What is he, a midget? This looks like an elevator."

"That's because it _is_ an elevator," Enrique said patiently. "It's the only way to get right to the heart of the Pyramid. I need to go first, because I'm going to be his translator. See that light?" He said, pointing to a small green light that Leo had thought was a gem. "When it turns green again, take the elevator. Make sure all of you are together before you go in the room. See you soon," He said, and stepped into the elevator. The light turned red when the doors closed.

Five minutes later, the light turned green. It took two trips to get everyone to the center of the pyramid. The elevator deposited them in front of, once again, two large ornate doors.

"We all here?" Annabeth asked. "Good. Now let's meet this director guy."

The nine of them pushed open the doors, and found themselves in a dark room.

"They are here, my lord." Enrique said from the back of the room. Suddenly, the lights turned on, so brightly that everyone was left blind for a moment, spots dancing in their eyes. A young, maybe twenty year old bronzed man of average height was seated in a large throne. He was wearing golden headgear that reminded Percy of a pharaoh he had seen in a movie once, and was holding a black scepter that was slightly different from Enrique's. Enrique was standing at the side of the throne. The man stood up suddenly, and Enrique knelt. The others did likewise. The man put a finger on Enrique's head for a moment, and the latter's eyes flashed blue.

"Please, get up," the Pharaoh guy said. "Welcome, and I hope you enjoy your stay here. My name is Tutankhamen, or, as you westerners know me, King Tut."


	7. Chapter 7

Third person once again. Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them.

Chapter 7-

"King Tut?" Annabeth stammered. "But you're mortal...I think..."

"Yes, I am, or rather _was_ just as mortal as your fire-haired friend hear, the oracle. You know, in Ancient Egypt, those with red hair were under the dominion of our god Set. Tell me child, what do you know about Set? And forgive my forgetfulness, but your name is Rochelle, is it not?"

"_Rachel_, sir," Rachel said, amused. "And about Set, well didn't he kill his brother Osiris, the king? Chopped him into tiny pieces?" At the last sentence, Annabeth and Percy shared an almost subconscious glance. They were familiar with immortals chopping each other into tiny pieces.

"True," The King said approvingly. "Very good. But did you know that Set had another side to him? He was also a guardian, the defender of Ra in his daily journey, the only one who could fight off the evil serpent Apophis? My point is that many things have two sides to them. In the same way that Set was both an evil, traitorous deity and the powerful protector of our chief god, so it was that I was born twice. At the same time as my mortal birth here on the ground I was born a god in the heavens above. My purpose for existing always was to be the trainer of the mortal children of the gods, for the gods decided that the ideal trainer would be one who is both mortal and immortal. And so when I was still young, my two forms were combined, destroying my mortal form but rendering me immortal. This is how you know King Tut to have died still in his youth. However, in secret, my tomb, this pyramid, was altered to become the place where the demigods would train. And that is my story. Now, I would like to know yours. Please, introduce yourselves. Tell me why you are worthy to be here." The pharaoh commanded. "How about you begin, Ms. Rachel?"

"Um...I am Rachel Dare..." She said weakly, and looked towards Enrique for help, but he only shrugged and made an apologetic gesture. King Tut chuckled.

"I thought he told you he was to be my translator! Forgive me, when he said that, he meant that I would be borrowing the power to speak your language from him, a luxury I am not able to enjoy on my own quite yet. I am working on it, believe me. I purchased the program Rosetta Stone, but sadly it has failed me. Despite the name, it does not have a default setting of Ancient Egyptian! Sacrilege, utter sacrilege. So for the time being, I must use this method. Now, what I meant was, tell me what makes you special."

Rachel smiled. "I am Rachel Elizabeth Dare, follower of Phoebus Apollo, host of the spirit of the oracle of Delphi." She said grandly.

"Very good. Next?" The king asked patiently. Leo walked up.

"Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, and check this out," He said mischievously, setting both his hands on fire. King Tut nodded appreciatively. And so it went on.

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, official architect of Olympus."

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. I have the curse of Achilles."

"Nico DiAngelo, son of Hades, king of ghosts."

"Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, reigning queen of kick-ass, and drakon-slayer."

"Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, um, I can charmspeak."

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, lieutenant Hunter of Artemis."

"Jason Grace, son of...son of Lord Jupiter. I defeated the Titan Krios." Jason finished reluctantly.

"Ah yes," King Tut said slowly, cutting him off. There was a cold glint in his eye. "Yes, I heard there was a child of Rome coming...Anyway, Enrique, would you like to show them their rooms? Yes, of course you would. Come here so I can give you the English again."

"Thank you my liege," Enrique said. Tutankhamen responded in a strange language which Percy assumed to be Ancient Egyptian. Enrique responded in kind.

"Follow me," He said, leading them out of the doors.

…...

They were in one of the upper levels of the pyramid, a journey which had taken them, due to a lack of elevators, a solid twenty minutes. Finally, they reached the dormitories, which were in a long hallway lined with doors on either side.

"Home sweet home," Enrique said with forced brightness. "There's some guest rooms at the end, those are always empty. And Jason and Thalia could stay in the Ra dorm, which is usually just empty, but being that Ra is Zeus' Egyptian form-"

"Hold on," Annabeth said. "Zeus didn't run off to Egypt like the others when Typhon attacked. He was the only one who stood his ground. So how can he have an Egyptian form?"

Enrique sighed. "Annabeth, gods are not like mortals, as I'm sure you know. They can be in multiple places at the same time. Because Zeus was the chief Greek god, the majority of his essence was tied to Greece, and thus he was not able to get away as easily as the others. However, a small portion of his essence _was_ able to slip away, and that became Ra, our chief god. So, Jason and Thalia are able to stay in the Ra dorm."

"Aaaagh!" yelled Piper unexpectedly. She instinctively jumped towards Jason as a crocodile with a monkey riding on it's back walked leisurely down the hallway.

"A crocodile and a monkey walk into a bar...please someone finish it for me." Leo said.

"That is not something you see everyday," Rachel stated. Suddenly, the monkey walked up to Rachel, dropped what looked like a chocolate ball at her feet, turned, jumped onto the crocodile's back, and the two strode off. Rachel bent down to pick up the chocolate.

"Don't eat that!" Leo, Percy, and Nico all said at once.

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"It really is chocolate," Enrique said, laughing. "That just shows that Mentos likes her."

"You named a chocolate-giving monkey _Mentos_?" Leo asked disbelievingly. Enrique gave him a withering look.

"Anyway, training starts tomorrow, Monday. On Thursday we go raid the scorpion men. Be prepared. I'll be supervising your training."

"Training? Scorpion men? Psssh, they don't sound so tough." Leo said. "You get scorpions in Texas all the time. No big deal."

"Tough enough that my best friend was killed in a raid," Enrique said softly, which shut Leo up immediately. "Well, anyway, good night," He said, turned, and walked down the hallway.

Everyone stared at Leo.


	8. Chapter 8

Third person narration once again. Thank you to Akheilos for pointing out my mistake in the previous chapter. Please review. PS-I've got nothing against police officers, and am not trying to stereotype them or anything. I hope you all like this chapter.

Chapter 8-

Annabeth shot Leo a disgusted look.

"I'm going to go talk to him, you guys go ahead." She said hurriedly. She turned and followed Enrique's path into a room behind them. The door was unlocked. Inside was a twin size bed in the corner, a small T.V so old that it had antennae, and a desk and chair beside the bed. The whole floor was covered with a thin layer of sand. On top of the desk was a collection of papers and books, worn out pencils and one new-looking Mac. There was also one small framed photo. Enrique was at the desk, lost inside of a book with a title in hieroglyphics, the ancient picture writing of the Egyptians. His sword was propped up against the desk like an umbrella.

"Hello Annabeth," Enrique said calmly, not even lifting his head from the book.

"Interesting read?" She asked.

"The Book of the Dead," He said, shutting it and putting it down. "You can take a look at it if you like. Hell, you can keep it, but you'll want the English version. Every thing you'll ever need to know about the afterlife. I was born knowing it word for word in my head. And yet still some things remain a mystery, just out of reach." Enrique gave a hollow chuckle.

"Look," Annabeth said. "I'm sorry about Leo, it's just that sometimes he can be-"

"Incredibly obtuse? I know he didn't know. There was no way he could have known. I would have been frightened if he had." Enrique shook his head. "It's all right, just forget about it."

Annabeth gave a small smile. She stepped closer.

"Who's that in the photograph?" She asked, taking a closer look at the picture. It was of three people, a younger but still recognizable Enrique, an older tan guy with a goatee, and a beaming little kid. They all had their arms around each other's shoulders.

"The older guy was my brother, Carlos, but everyone called him Charlie."

"Was?" Annabeth asked before she could stop herself. Enrique looked down.

"Sorry," Annabeth said quickly.

"No, it's ok. Charlie took care of me. I never knew my mom and I obviously didn't know my dad. He was pure mortal, and he was the closest thing I ever had to a parent. See, he knew about the gods, but he never really, _understood_ them, if you know what I mean. Then one day, I get a phone call. Charlie was at a bar. There was this other guy that started saying things loudly to him, nasty things, that Charlie didn't really agree with. So Charlie to the guy to be quiet. Things got messy, but the other guy threw the first punch. Charlie never took a punch well. It so happened that a couple cops were nearby. They didn't think, they just saw one guy beating up another guy. They shot him. They killed him." Enrique finished bitterly. "It was a short while after that that I went on the run."

"I'm so sorry," Annabeth said quietly, horrified. "Who's this," She said, pointing at the smiling young child. Enrique tensed for a moment.

"That's Javier. Demigod, like me. My nephew. My brother had a kid with Isis, goddess of magic. Then she left, and it was just us. Then Charlie died, and it was me and Javier. We found this place together. We trained together."

Annabeth nodded. "Where is he? Javier, I mean." She asked, and Enrique made a horrible strangled noise. With a gasp, she realized he was biting back sobs.

"Enrique," She said slowly, softly. "It wasn't your best friend the scorpion men killed, was it?"

The son of Anubis slammed his fist against the table, rattling it.

"It was the stupidest thing I've ever done," He said through tortured breaths. "He wanted to come on a raid. I said no, he was too young, only eight. _Only eight_. He argued. I hated arguing with him. I gave in. He was the son of Isis, I told myself. A major goddess. He can take care of himself. He was going to be one of the best. I told him never to leave my side, to always stay where I could see him. We got separated from the others, surrounded. I turned my back on him for one second." By this point tears were streaming down Enrique's face. "One second. I turned back around-and-and-" He gasped for breath. "It was quick, painless. He wasn't around long enough for the poison in their tails to take effect."

Annabeth was at a loss for words. Then she remembered something that Enrique had said earlier, about certain parts of the book of the dead remaining a "mystery, _just out of reach_."

"Enrique, you're not trying to, to bring him back, are you?" She said hesitantly, gesturing at the book. "Once someone is gone, they need to stay that way, it's the way it's meant to be-" The moment the words left her mouth she knew she said something wrong.

"Meant to be?" Enrique asked, his voice a cold, hoarse whisper. He stiffened. In one movement, he grabbed his sword and heaved it in Annabeth's direction with all his force. It missed, quivering hilt-deep in the wall. Annabeth stared at him, horrified. She backed away slowly, then turned and ran out the room.

She saw what was out there, and screamed.


	9. Chapter 9

Third person. Sorry about the cliffhanger. Please review.

Chapter Nine-

Annabeth's scream pierced the night. Enrique ran out of the room and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Are you okay?" He said. She nodded weakly.

"Is that what I think it is?" Annabeth asked. She was referring to a humanoid form that was stuck to the wall, impaled by Enrique's expertly thrown blade. It was about six feet tall and wrapped in head-to-toe white cloth bandages. It was feebly trying to grab at the two people staring at it in horror, but they were just out of reach.

"Yeah," Enrique said numbly. "A mummy. I'm just glad I sensed it in time, if it had gotten into the room, we would have been done for."

"What do you mean, you sensed it?"

"My dad created the processes of embalming and mummification. Thus, I could sense the mummy outside the room. Now that I've got it captured, I should be able to tell where it was coming from and why. I'll be right back, just need to get my walking stick." Enrique ran into the room and emerged a second later, the walking stick turning into a scepter in his hand. The eyes of the scepter began glowing, and so did the eye-area of the mummy. However, a moment later, the light disappeared, and Enrique flinched violently, his wings snapping back and almost hitting Annabeth.

"Watch it," She said.

"Sorry," He muttered, shaken. "It's got some kind of mental block. Whoever sent it doesn't want us to know who they are. I'm gonna have to dispose of it." He grabbed the mummy's hands, and a wave of blue energy ran down the mummy's body, disintegrating it. Enrique wiped the dirt off his palms.

A small crowd had gathered around them by that point, and Percy pushed his way through to Annabeth, followed by Nico and Rachel.

"What happened?" He asked, hugging his girlfriend. "I just heard a scream-"

"There was a mummy-" Enrique began, but Percy cut him off.

"A mummy? Seriously? That's it? Thank the gods, I thought it was something terrible,"

"A mummy is something terrible," Enrique said.

"Honestly? Come on, we've faced Titans and hydras and a giant pig,"

"It might not be as bad as a Titan," Enrique explained. "But they are very dangerous none the less. Ask your friend Nico, he knows." All eyes turned to Nico.

"Yeah," He said hesitantly. "If you can reanimate a corpse of any kind...well they aren't people any more. They don't have souls. They're just like shells, but if you give them a purpose, like to kill someone, they won't stop until it's done. In that way they're more dangerous than a human or monster, because they can't feel emotion and they can't be killed by just anybody. I'm guessing Enrique was able to get rid of it because he's the son of Anubis. It's the same way only I could kill those skeletons so long ago."

Enrique nodded. He turned to the crowd of Egyptian kids, and out of them the strange monkey appeared riding on the crocodile. Enrique got down on his knees so that he could face the monkey.

"You know what to do," He told it softly. It grinned in the maniacal way monkeys do, popped a chocolate ball into its mouth, and rode off on the crocodile with an air of importance. Enrique turned toward the audience, leaning on his walking stick. Immediately, everyone became quiet.

"Someone has attempted to commit murder tonight," He said evenly. "This is an act of high treason. If we find the person, rest assured they will be killed. I would have everyone go back to sleep. You have nothing to fear. There will be a constant night guard patrolling these dormitories."

Reassured, the crowd filed back into their rooms.

"Tell no one what I told you," Enrique breathed to Annabeth as she passed him. He strode off, down into the depths of the pyramid.


	10. Chapter 10

Really sorry about the time its taken me to do this one, I've been caught up with homework and stuff. Please review.

Chapter 10-

"Good morning, everybody!" Enrique called brightly to the sleepy Greek campers, attempting to avoid conversation about the previous night's events. The ten of them were assembled outside the pyramid on a vast stretch of desert. "First day of training, should be fun. Is everyone here? Good. Now, I'm going to be your supervisor, as one of the head counselors here at Camp Tut. We are going to start with an obstacle course." He spread his arms wide, revealing the course.

The obstacle course was long and winding. It had several sections, including a swamp, what looked like monkey bars, and apparently an underground section. All in all, it would have done a military boot camp proud.

"I'm going to go through it once, just to show you. Remember, I've been doing this a long time, so I know all the tricks. You don't. No powers on the obstacle course, and you have to carry your weapons with you, like you would in a real situation. So here I go." Enrique took off a jacket he had been wearing and threw it onto the ground, revealing his expansive wings. He had his scepter strapped to his back in walking stick mode and his sheathed sword hanging loosely at his side. He took a breath, and began.

The first portion was simply running through tires, or so it seemed. Every so often, a massive serpent would erupt from one of the tires that his foot had just left, snapping at the air. The audience cringed every time Enrique came close to having his leg bitten off. The next section required him to crawl through a matrix of wire, made more difficult by his wings, which he had to keep folded tightly against his back.

At the swamp, which was the next section, he took out his walking stick and started tapping the ground in front of him as he walked, like a blind man. When he reached the end of the swamp, he suddenly dove into the water and disappeared.

He emerged about a hundred yards away, barely even wet.

The rest of the course took him about ten minutes to complete. The monkey bars, which were about ten feet off the ground, posed no challenge for Enrique, who simply flew.

"I thought you couldn't use your powers," Leo protested when Enrique returned.

"My wings are a part of my body. They don't count as powers." He replied with a wicked grin. "I could easily go back and do them if you want, though."

"Nah, I'm good. I don't want to be embarrassed when I fall and break my neck."

"Suit yourself. So who's up first?" Enrique called. Everyone immediately looked around, hoping that someone else would volunteer. Jason sighed and was about to lift his hand when someone spoke.

"I'll do it," Nico said quietly, and walked to the front. "No powers? No problem." He braced himself with a breath and ran onto the course, jumping through the tires. He took well over twice the amount of time as Enrique, but nonetheless he finished.

Inspired by his example, the others immediately began volunteering. However, none were able to complete in a time even close to Enrique's. When everyone was finished and panting, Enrique shook his head slowly.

"We've got some work to do," He muttered.

…...

"Weapons class!" Enrique said brightly, dropping the group off in a dark armory in one of the lower levels of the pyramid. This time, there were other campers sitting in assorted seats.

"I co-teach this one," He said, going to the front of the class. Beside him was a tall brown-haired girl with emerald green eyes.

"Hello," She said. "For our newcomers, my name is Alexa. I am a daughter of Horus, or Apollo to you guys. I teach this with Enrique, but you already knew that. Now, everyone, lets see if the Greek people can answer some basic questions about our weapons. Enrique, can I see your sword? Thanks," She said, holding up the shining white blade.

"Tell me," She asked. "What is the blade made from?" No one answered, just a group of blank stares. Alexa sighed, and turned to Enrique.

"Ivory," He said. "From the first sea monster I killed. Leviathan ivory is indestructible, and never gets dull. It also forms a bond with the user when made into a weapon, and very unfortunate things would happen if anyone other than me tried to use it without my permission. Now, can you tell me what this is?" He asked, holding up his scepter. This time, Annabeth raised her hand.

"A was scepter. A symbol of power."

"Nice. Can you tell me the other two kinds of scepter and what they stand for?"

"There's the djed, which is stability, and the ankh, which is life."

"Right again. At this camp, when you graduate, you get a scepter. You are given a walking stick with the potential to become any one of the three, and it will become the scepter that suits you best. How am I doing, Alexa?"

"Great," She said. "Now if everyone would please take out your weapon, we will begin discussing how the balance of your blade can save you or kill you in a fight..."

The lesson continued for half an hour, until Enrique gestured at the group and mouthed "Let's go," They quietly left the room.

"I can't stand that class," He said in a relieved tone. "You wouldn't think a class about weapons could be boring, but that comes close."

"Then why do you teach it?" Rachel asked.

"All of the senior counselors have to teach three classes. You choose one, you earn one, and you are assigned one. That was the one I was assigned. We're going to the next class I teach, fight class."

"Did you choose that or what?" Leo asked. Enrique gave another wicked grin.

"I earned it,"

…...

Ten minutes later, they were in a large, bright room with a sunroof. The floor was padded and there was a vending machine in the far corner.

"Welcome to the dojo," Enrique said to the group, as well as some Egyptian campers that had the class as well. "Where we learn how to fight. We're going to start this _mano a mano_, so drop your weapons. I'm gonna ask all you new people to stand way back, and let's see, Carl, can you come up please?"

A short and stocky, but muscular guy walked up and acknowledged the crowd.

"Carl is a son of Sekhmet. The lioness goddess. Now prepare to have your minds blown, cause this is something you don't see everyday."

All of a sudden, claws began growing out of Carl's fingers. His teeth sharpened into razor-like points. He crouched like a cat about to pounce, and there was no doubt that if he did it would be several feet in the air. A gasp emanated from the Camp Half-Blood campers.

"Easy, kid. You may know that a lot of our gods had animal features. Thus, certain children of our gods have certain animal features of their own, like Carl here."

"Do you have that?" Leo asked.

Enrique shrugged, spreading his wings wide. "Well..."

"No Valdez, he's obviously completely human," Piper said.

"Right," Leo muttered.

"But isn't Anubis a jackal?" Annabeth asked. Enrique shrugged again, and this time claws emerged from his fingers, though not quite as prominent as Carl's. And only his canine teeth became sharper.

"Yes, I have some characteristics as well, as you can see. Not to the same extent as my friend here, but yeah."

Leo whistled. "Remind me not to get into a fight with you,"

Enrique grinned. "Valdez, front and center. Thanks for volunteering."

"Whoa, I didn't volunteer, wait," Leo complained as Piper and Jason pushed him towards Enrique.

"I'll go easy on you," Enrique said.

"You go easy on _me_? I'll try and go easy on _you_." Leo countered, hiding his nervousness.

"Ready, then? Let's go."

The two circled each other, like two alley cats. Enrique had a laid back look in his stance and demeanor, but Leo was all business. He was not about to embarrass himself in front of everyone, especially since he had done so on the obstacle course. He had been the only one unable to finish.

In a blur, Enrique ran at Leo, who barely managed to dodge the attack. Without skipping a beat, Enrique turned on a dime, facing his opponent.

"All right, man, what happened to going easy on me?" Leo asked, biding his time.

"I lied," Enrique said just loud enough for Leo to hear.

"Then I lied too," Leo responded, and willed his hands to catch fire. This time, he ran at Enrique.

"Looks like you got a couple tricks," Enrique said, impressed despite himself.

"I try," Leo said, launching a fireball, which hit Enrique in the chest. The latter collapsed, and Leo marched over.

"Looks like I won," He said confidently.

"Not even close," Enrique said, struggling to rise. Leo aimed a flaming punch at him, but Enrique caught Leo's hand by the wrist, inches from his face. He dragged Leo down as he pulled himself up, and Leo's knees buckled.

"Looks like _I _win," Enrique said slowly. "All talk and no game makes Leo a dull boy," He taunted. Leo looked around desperately. He was running out of options. He scanned his eyes around the room for anything that could help him. The light from the sun glinted off Enrique's sword distractingly.

And then it hit him.

The sun.

He could feel it energizing him, his body leeching strength from the great ball of fire in the sky. In one fluid movement, he broke Enrique's iron grip and threw him to the ground. Leo stood over his opponent, both his arms completely covered in flames. He pointed a finger menacingly at Enrique, who's eyes widened. Finally, Enrique shrugged.

"You win," He said softly. "Well played. Maybe you guys have some potential after all."

He got up, brushing himself off.

"But you guys are gonna need a _lot_ more than potential if you want us on your side," He added ominously.


	11. Chapter 11

Please review, I really want to know what you think, and take a look at my other story if you get a chance. Thanks.

Chapter 11-Part 1-Enrique's Point of View

I checked the clock. It was 4:00 am, and we needed to leave for the raid in a couple hours. Which meant it was time to wake everyone up. I grabbed my scepter and walked out of my room.

The scene in front of me would have been surprising to most people. A constant patrol of various animals roamed the hallways, serving as guardians in case of any more danger. I had had Mentos gather them from the various parts of the pyramid where they were scattered. There were creatures as large as alligators and a hippopotamus to as sleek as a cheetah to as small as a scarab beetle. Mentos himself was flying above them on a buzzard, screeching what I assumed were orders.

I made my way through the throng of animals to the middle of the corridor.

"You are all dismissed," I said loudly. "Thank you once again." The animals made their way out of the hallway. I tightened my grip on the scepter, awakening the magic inside.

"_Awake_," I breathed. A blue shockwave of energy erupted from the base of the scepter, going throughout the hallway. I heard stirrings inside the rooms as people woke up. Gradually, they stepped out of their chambers, yawning. The Greek campers hung towards the back. They'd made some progress in the past few days. I'd have to hope that it would be enough.

"You know what day today is," I said loudly. "Today we raid the scorpion men, and show them who's boss. Would any of you like to explain to our visitors why we do this?"

A girl my age named Lydia from the Hathor group raised her hand. I nodded at her. She turned and faced the newcomers.

"The scorpion men are a numerous tribe of monsters. They would easily have expanded their territory if we didn't suppress them every week."

"Thanks Lydia," I said. "Now, I need eight volunteers plus all nine of the Greeks. So, who wants to come? Remember, you need to have been here for three years at least." I called. Hands shot up in the air. Those who came back from the raids were heroes. Everyone wanted that.

Once I had selected the eight, I sent the others back to bed. There was no other reason for them to be up so early. The kids I had chosen were some of the very best at the camp. There was Lydia, and Carl from fight class, the son of Sekhmet. There was Johnny, one of my own half-siblings, although not quite as powerful as me, and without the wings. Taylor and Ryan, the twin sons of Nut, a sky goddess. They couldn't exactly fly, but they had immense power over the air. Ashley, the daughter of Sobek, the crocodile god. She was a tough fighter. I had chosen Justin, our best healer, as well. He was a son of Thoth, our god of magic, wisdom, writing, medicine, and a bunch of other stuff. And finally, there was Sandra, a winged daughter of Nepthys, another funerary goddess who was also Anubis' mother. Of the nine total of us Egyptians, only Justin, Sandra, and I had graduated and received a scepter in addition to our other weapon. Justin had the ankh, symbol of life, and Sandra the djed, symbol of stability. The ankh looks something like a cross with a loop at the top. The djed looks most like a backbone or pillar. Along with my was scepter, the three symbols together were a powerful combination.

After a quick breakfast in the mess hall, we assembled ourselves outside the pyramid. Even though I knew the way to the scorpion tribe by heart, I took out a compass and assessed my bearings, pointing myself in the direction of the tribe. I turned around again and looked at the others. While my fellow Egyptian campers were looking eager to get going, the Greeks seemed nervous.

"A quick recap of the plan," I called out. "First, Carl, Ashley, Clarisse, Piper, Lydia, and Nico are going to hit them on the ground by the entrance of their village. Than, me, Sandra, Taylor, Ryan and Jason are going to hit them from the sky when they don't expect it. Percy, Thalia, Annabeth, and Rachel stay by the river, where they usually try and escape or call reinforcements from other tribes. While they are occupied with the rest of us, Leo and Johnny are going to see if theres anything worth stealing and if not, burn down some of the buildings. Justin is going to hang back in case anyone needs healing. Now, I'm going to get us within-" I was interrupted by Rachel raising her hand to speak. Without waiting for a response, she began talking.

"Isn't that kind of cruel, just to destroy a whole village of creatures? Aren't there like, women and children too? Do you just kill them all?"

The Egyptian campers stared at her for a moment, and burst out laughing. I myself gave a slight grin.

"Why do you think we call them scorpion _men_?" I asked, hushing my group. Her question, although ignorant, was a reasonable one. "They don't breed. The scorpions are born pretty much randomly from sand. And we kill them all because all they do is hunt and kill themselves, and their favorite food is people. But if it makes you feel better, they'll be back-village and all-within a week. Ever since Gaia opened the doors of death they started reforming faster, and we've had to do raids more often." I explained. "Now, as I was saying, I'm going to get us within about fifty yards of the village entrance, in the usual spot. For those who don't know, the usual spot is a shaded cluster of trees by the river. Once there, we proceed with the plan as told. Ready? Good. Now let's _go._" I finished, bringing my scepter down and teleporting us to the location.

I took a deep breath, looking out upon the same place that my world had ended along with my nephew's life. I was ready to completely wreck havoc. I signaled the first wave to get going. They started creeping toward the village. Then Percy and his group began running across the water-literally on the surface, helped by Percy's abilities. Finally I looked to my group and nodded. Jason, Sandra, and I took to the sky, with the twins running as fast as the wind beneath us.

From above, the village looked like a sandbox. Inside the square walls were numerous square huts, as well as an armory. There were only two entrances to the village, one in front and one by the river. At the very center was a large ring of fire pits where the food was cooked. With a little less than a hundred scorpion men, this was one of the larger tribes.

The first wave had already fought their way into the village, and were going very well. They were holding their own against a group twice as large as them. I nodded at the others as we got to the walls. Once there, the twins jumped at least twenty feet, well over the walls, and withdrew their swords in midair so that they began fighting the moment their feet touched earth. Their swords were regular sword hilts with a thin rod of celestial bronze instead of a blade, around which they formed a miniature whirlwind. They each carried two swords. A second after they landed, me and Sandra folded our wings and dived, while Jason made a clumsy sort of fall from a short height. Jason and I took out our swords, and Sandra her bow. She had her scepter on her back, just like me. Together, we entered the fray from behind.

A scorpion man is not something you want to see up close. They are about three quarters the heart of a centaur, which is still a considerable height. From the waist down they have the body of scorpion, red and black, with six pointed legs and a tail longer than the rest of its body curled above its head. Their torso seems unbalanced, as they have a normal arm with a regular hand as well as another arm with a large scorpion claw instead of a hand. The claw is one of their most potent weapons, right after the tail, strong enough to snap bones and metal like twigs and sharp enough to cut off a head with no effort. Their faces are distorted, with two holes instead of nostrils, and fly-like multifaceted eyes. Their mouths are large and always open, filled with at least three rows of razor teeth, just like a shark. They don't usually use weapons, but theres always the few that go that extra mile.

The first one I killed had no idea what hit him. He barely had time to turn around before I stabbed him through the heart, dissolving him into sand. However, that gave me away to the rest. The next one, which was particularly large and brutish-looking, turned around and sent me flying with a sideways hit from his claw. I hit the ground hard, and he came running up to me. He picked me up by the shirt with his normal hand, and shook me so I dropped my sword. His tail curled up, about to strike, when his eyes went dim and he let go of me. Before he disintegrated I saw about five arrows in his back, courtesy of Sandra, who nodded at me.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem." She replied. My eyes widened as a scorpion man reared up on its hind legs behind her, in a position that could kill her in one hit.

"Look out!" I yelled, shooting out my arm. A wave of sand erupted at the scorpion's feet, toppling it onto it's back. Unfortunately, being creatures of sand themselves, attacks like that don't do much. However, Sandra was able to shoot it in its underside, where it has no protection.

From the corner of my eye I saw a hut go up in flames, and I knew Leo was doing his job. He had burned his way through a wall, and I was able to keep an eye on Percy through the resulting hole. He was currently fighting a bunch of scorpions trying to get away on a raft.

An axe swung at my side, missing by an inch. A scorpion man readied himself to strike again. Before he could, I stabbed him with my sword. For the next ten minutes, I mindlessly hacked and slashed, entering a state of mind where I have just one aim: destroy.

An exceptionally large column of fire shook me from attack mode, and I heard screams. At that moment, everything started to go wrong.

**Part 2-Leo's Point of View**

Me and Johnny ran down to the part of the wall Enrique had pointed us to. Man, that guy was cool, once you got past the fact that he wanted to kill less than a week ago. And I wish I could fly too. But hey, can't ask for much more than fire powers. And being able to get energy from the sun would be useful here in the desert too, although that makes me start to think of myself as a plant, which is kinda freaky.

Once we got to the wall, I set my hands on fire and blasted a hole through it. Johnny didn't say a word throughout the whole thing. He's tall and kinda quiet, but I had the feeling that I could trust him. But then again, maybe thats just what he wants me to think.

We skulked around the back of the huts, away from the fighting, which was fine by me. Forget what I said about scorpions not being tough. These guys were total badasses, and I didn't like my chances against one of them too much. I only had my fire powers, a few bottles of emergency gasoline that I'd pulled from my belt so I could make a Molotov cocktail if I had to, and a knife. Johnny had a long curved sword and a shield.

We went into the first hut. Johnny broke in by literally breaking the door with a karate kick.

"Damn," I whispered and followed him inside. Wordlessly, he took out a burlap bag and began stuffing jewelry and gold and priceless things like that from inside. I felt kinda bad about stealing all this stuff, so I told him so.

"All of it was taken from our campers that they killed in the first place," He answered curtly, and I decided not to feel bad anymore.

We stepped outside, and I lit the hut on fire with a single sphere of flame launched from my hand. We skipped the next two huts, and I was about to skip the third, but Johnny lingered.

"Is there something worth taking in there?" I asked. Johnny had told me earlier that since Anubis was Hermes and Hermes the god of thieves, he had some thief powers himself, almost by accident. He could sense if there were things of value in hidden places, things worth stealing.

Johnny shook his head.

"Theres-it's nothing."

"What?" I asked, curious.

"You don't want to know."

"Really?"

"Yeah, unless you like mass graves of human bones. Sound appetizing? I thought so." He said as the color drained from my face. "I can sense death too," He explained. There was a loud creaking noise behind us. It was a scorpion man stepping over the ruins of the house I had burned. He held a silver bow in his mismatched hands that looked almost like-

"Thalia's!" I yelled, panicked. "That's Thalia's bow." I shuddered, just as he lit an arrow on fire in the smoldering ruins and shot it at Johnny. Heroically, I pushed him out the way, forgetting that while fire has no effect on me arrows certainly do.

The arrow made contact at my belt, and time froze. I felt nothing, and silently thanked the gods. Then I realized why I felt nothing.

The flaming arrow hit one of the bottles of gasoline, not killing me, but causing an explosion.

A pillar of flame shot into the sky, and I was completely surrounded. Luckily, I'm not hurt by flames, but Johnny wasn't so fortunate. I hadn't pushed him away far enough, and he was hit by a wave of heat. He screamed and clutched his face.

"I'll get Justin," I yelled at him over the roar of flames, while also trying my hardest to dissipate the pillar. I'm not as good at getting rid of fire as I am at creating it.

While I ran, looking for Justin, I saw the scorpion man with Thalia's bow run away, with something on it's back. Thalia herself, unconscious. My eyes widened. Rachel was slumped on its back as well. I could see Justin by the river helping out what looked like Percy and Annabeth. They were both a sickly shade of purple.

I looked from him to her, silently weighing my options. I couldn't kill the scorpion without possibly injuring Thalia or Rachel. And if I ran after the scorpion, Johnny could die.

I made a decision that would haunt me for weeks to come. I ran towards Justin.

"Hey," He said in a restrained voice. "Just finished these guys, what's your emergency."

"Johnny," I spat out. I had caught him just in time. Maybe if he could get to Johnny I could run and follow Thalia. There was still hope.

We went back through the wall into the village. Suddenly, a massive parade of scorpion men, every one of them that was left, ran to the back of the village. We couldn't get past them without being stampeded worse than a shopper on Black Friday. Once the last one had cleared we went in and saw what was going on.

They had collected themselves at the back wall, completely cornered. However, they didn't seem scared. Quite the opposite. To my horror, I saw a few more bodies on some of their backs in addition to Thalia. One gave me an evil grin, and then they disappeared in a whirlwind of sand.

"_No_," I said softly, sinking to my knees. All around me, the village disintegrated somehow, melting into sand.

I looked around. Percy and Annabeth were coming into the village as fast as they could, which wasn't that fast. Of the original eighteen, only those two, me, Justin, Johnny, Enrique, Sandra, Piper, and Clarisse were left. Enrique was sitting, holding his head in his hands. He looked defeated. Then again, it was a pretty substantial defeat.

"What happened?" I asked to everyone in general, while Justin ran to attend to Johnny.

Percy started talking first. His voice was gritty, as if someone had slashed his vocal cords.

"A couple scorpion men stung us, than grabbed Thalia and Rachel. I was able to kill one, but the other got away. We would be dead if it wasn't for Justin."

Then Enrique began talking.

"When you made that huge column of fire," He began.

"I didn't make it, it just happened-" I protested. He ignored me.

"And then we heard yelling, and Carl turned around for a moment, distracted, and he got stabbed in the leg by a scorpion man with a sword. He went down. Than Piper almost got smashed by a claw, but Jason took the hit for her and went unconscious. Nico was hit by a scorpion that was sent flying by a tornado the twins made, and another one picked him up. He'll be alright though, I hope. The twins were sneaked up on and stuffed into a bag by a couple other scorpions. Ashley got taken the same way. They were about to get me that way too, but Lydia attacked the scorpion. I managed to kill it, but it was too late. It had thrown her off and she hit a hut. I think she might have broken something, but before I could help, one had taken her. Once they had their prisoners they started running. All this happened at about the same time. It was overwhelming." After the lengthy explanation, Enrique put his head in his hands again.

Suddenly he flinched, and got up, stabilizing himself with his scepter.

"We've got to go get them. We need to find out where they went. I have a feeling that they won't be killed yet. Their the bait."

"So what?" Annabeth asked. "We just do take the bait? Isn't that exactly what they want us to do?"

"Yeah," Enrique said. "But they won't know what hit them."


	12. Chapter 12

Third person narration. Please review.

Chapter 12-

The first step to getting them back, according to Enrique, was to go back to the pyramid and get ready for a major battle. In their present condition there was no way that they would emerge victorious. And they didn't even know where their friends were even taken. When they got back to the pyramid, Enrique went to speak to King Tut. The others were left with his words echoing in their heads.

Percy was thinking about all this as everyone was checked out by one of the medics at the camp. He couldn't shake the thought that there wasn't enough time, that his friends would be killed.

When Enrique came back, his face was grim, but determined.

"We're calling reinforcements. From camp half-blood. And theres one more thing. We are considering summoning a demon, which will be a great asset as we can draw on its power. It hasn't been attempted in a thousand years."

"Why?" Piper asked.

"Because its amazingly dangerous." Enrique said calmly. "The last time the demon almost destroyed the camp and killed about half the campers. However, the director has decided that it will be worth the risk. He simply needs confirmation that you are, to say, worthy of our aid and sacrifice. All he is asking for is for one of you to take a test."

"Fun," Piper muttered darkly. "So whats this test?"

"Are you volunteering?" Enrique responded.

Piper's first instinct was to say no, she sure as hell wasn't volunteering, but then she looked around at her friends who were like family to her. They seemed defeated and hopeless in a way she had never seen before on their faces. She thought of the others, taken by the scorpion men to who knows where. She specifically thought about Jason, who had taken a hit for her and was now paying the price. They couldn't waste anymore time.

"Yes," She said softly, making everybody look at her in surprise. Percy started to say something, but Annabeth silenced him with a look. Enrique looked at her with a newfound respect.

"Then its settled." He said. "Come with me, quickly."

They first went to the dormitory corridor. Enrique went into his room for a moment, and when he got out he was wearing a wide white bracelet on each wrist. When Piper looked closely, she saw that the bracelet was actually made out of cloth bandages.

"Let's get going," Enrique said before she could inquire about the bandages on his wrists.

They went down what seemed like thousands of stairs, going deep into the pyramid. The stairs never stopped. There was always another flight.

"Haven't you people ever heard of escalators?" Piper asked, panting. Enrique turned to her and smiled.

"No," He said.

Finally, they reached the bottom of the pyramid. The bottom floor was empty, except for a large square tile. Enrique went to the tile and lifted it.

"Down through here," He explained, and jumped. Piper followed suit.

They were in a poorly lit chamber room that stretched as far as the eye could see. Piper couldn't see the walls. It was literally endless. Piper began shivering, even though the room wasn't cold.

"Where are we?" Piper asked. Enrique didn't answer. When he turned around to face her, his eyes were shining black. He raised his hands, and they were glowing similarly as well.

"I have come," He said, and his voice echoed through the room. Suddenly, the scene changed. They were in a room about fifty feet square, made of pure gold. King Tut was there, as well as Enrique. There was also a smallish creature standing near them on four legs. It looked like someone had taken a crocodile's head, put it on a hippo's body, gave it a lion's legs, and than shrunk the creature down to the size of a large dog.

"This is Ammit," Enrique said, gesturing to the crocodile-hippo-lion-thing.

There was an altar as well, with a scale. For some reason, that scale scared Piper out of her mind.

"Son of Anubis," The king said, and his voice seemed louder and deeper. Although in the back of her head she realized that he was speaking Ancient Egyptian, Piper still was able to understand him somehow. "You know the procedure."

"What's this all about?" Piper asked cautiously.

"Nothing much, we just have to weigh your heart, to determine your worthiness." Enrique said apologetically.

"_What_?" Piper asked.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. We weigh your heart against a feather. If it balances, your golden. If not..."

"If not _what,_" Piper said harshly. Enrique looked down.

"Than Ammit will eat your heart."


	13. Chapter 13

Please review.

Chapter 13-

"I'm sorry, don't worry, you'll do fine," Enrique said loudly, drowning out Piper's protests. He sat her down on the altar. He took a look at her.

"This will be all over in a minute. Good luck," He said. He exchanged a look with King Tut. He placed a hand on Piper's head, and she felt herself drifting away.

"Wait..." She managed to say, before she collapsed.

…...

She woke up in the same room. Enrique was standing next to the scale, his eyes glowing black, and King Tut was watching silently from the side. Ammit was staring at the scale with an interest that Piper did not like at all.

"Is it done?" She asked.

"It has only just begun," Enrique said in a voice that was not his. He gestured at the scale, and she looked closely at it for the first time. On one side, there was a long feather. On the other was a beating red object the size of her first. It was her heart. Instinctively, she placed a hand where her heart had been, but she felt nothing. She put a finger on her wrist, but there was no pulse. Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak, but Enrique cut her off.

"There is nothing you can say. Your past actions will decide your fate now," He spoke. Piper looked back, her life running through her eyes. She hadn't ever done anything _that _bad, right? Except steal stuff, like a car...

She began panicking. _Come on, Piper,_she told herself. _Think about why you are doing this._ She needed to do this for her friends. To get them back. To defeat Gaia and help save the world.

Throughout this whole time, the scale hadn't been still, rocking back and forth. Suddenly, it stopped. Balanced.

Piper breathed a sigh of relief. Enrique smiled at her.

"Wake up," He said, and the scene of the scale and the disappointed crocodile and the smiling winged child disappeared.

…...

She woke up for real in front of her friends.

"Welcome back," Enrique said.

"So how was that test?" Annabeth asked softly.

Piper looked around and shrugged. "I passed."

"Great!" Leo said. "Now we can get an ass-kicking demon on our side. This is gonna be fun."

Enrique let out a deep breath.

"Not yet, it isn't. We have to summon it first. And we're doing that first thing in the morning."

"In the morning?" Piper asked. "We need to do it now. I didn't just put my life in...I mean I didn't just take a test so we could do this thing _tomorrow. _We do it now."

"Are you sure?" Annabeth asked. "Do you know what time it is? 3 AM. And the demon is stronger at night."

"I don't care. We do it now." Piper said. She wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but her experience had given her a new drive to move forward. She looked at Enrique.

"I agree." He said.

…...

An hour and a half later, they were ready to summon the demon. They were in the same room Piper and Enrique had left, except this time the chamber had turned into an enormous iron arena with a huge ring in the middle, around which demigods were standing with chains.

"So what's this demon we're summoning?" Leo asked jovially.

"The serpent Apophis," Enrique answered. Annabeth started.

"Isn't that-"

"The most dangerous and evil creature in the entire Egyptian pantheon. Yes, it is. It is stronger then your Typhon, by a hundred times. And I must be the one to summon it."

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

"Because the king has ordered me too. And as the one summoning it, I have the privilege of taking its power into myself. It will make me as powerful as one of your gods. And will greatly facilitate our mission. And the great thing is, the serpent will regenerate for next time. Now, I must be off." He finished before anyone could say anything.

"He's crazy," Annabeth whispered as Enrique jumped down to the bottom floor, in front of the ring. He grasped his scepter raising it above his head. There was a deceptive calmness about him.

He stood, and began chanting. The other Egyptians joined in. The ring began glowing green. Suddenly, the chanting stopped.

A form began materializing in the ring with a sound like feedback. It was a coiled form three times the size of a drakon and twice the thickness. Right before it appeared fully, the campers threw the chains.

Annabeth heard an unholy roar that shook the building. The serpent was chained in the ring, thrashing about, with the campers trying their best to hold it down. It was a gigantic snake, with fangs the size of three grown men, and six glowing red eyes. Enrique stood next to it, an ant.

It took a while to notice Enrique, but when it did, it got down low, seeing eye to eye with him. Enrique just held on to his scepter more tightly.

He stuck his scepter out at it, and the serpent tried to snap at him, but was held back by the chains. Energy began coursing along its body, lightning bolts making the journey from the end of its tail into Enrique's scepter. The bolts grew larger as the serpent seemed to get more tired. It hissed and thrashed, but it got weaker as the energy flowed into the scepter, and from the scepter, into Enrique, who seemed to be growing visibly stronger. The course of energy stopped, and feebly the serpent struck at him once more. Enrique stepped up to it, pulled out his sword, and stabbed it in the jaw.

Although the blade might as well have been a toothpick, the serpent let out a horrible wail. Enrique looked up, closed his eyes, and shot out a blast of energy from his fingertips that lit up the room, right at the serpent. The serpent moved no more, and he retrieved his sword.

He flew to the top of the serpent's head and stood there. He held his scepter in the air-a sign of victory. The crowd of Egyptian campers began cheering.

There was a massive cracking sound as the floor opened up beneath the serpent. Enrique just managed to jump into the air and fly off before the demon serpent fell through. Some members of the crowd, especially the older kids, looked uneasy, but everyone began cheering again. Enrique smiled, and flew over to the Greek campers. When he got there, they saw that his face was undeniably grim.

"That was too easy," He said, not bragging, but worried. "It should have been harder. Apophis barely fought back."

He looked at them, and there was fear in his eyes. There was also specks of green in them, as if a child had dropped paint into his irises.

Hastily trying to change the subject, Leo pushed his way to the front of the group.

"You have that snakes power's now, right?" He asked. "That's good, right?"

Enrique nodded.

"I'm going to my room. Theres some...studying I need to do. You guys get some sleep. It's five in the morning. If all goes well we leave in about five hours."

He walked off before they could say anything. Percy looked around.

"Sleep sounds good. We're going to need our strength."

…...

Enrique opened the door to his room, and almost blasted a hole through his wall to kill the scorpion man standing inside. He restrained himself only when he saw the monster wave a white flag. However, he held on to his sword.

"What-are-you-doing-here?" He muttered through clenched teeth, more angry than he had been in a while.

"My master sends an earnest welcome on behalf of our patron. He says that he has your friends, and that they will become his and his troops' next meals if you don't come and surrender yourselves to Gaia."

"Who is your master?" Enrique asked.

"Lycaon, the werewolf. He has been made general of the half-humanoid monsters."

"Suits him," Enrique muttered. "Where do we go?"

"Not far from here, with your power." The scorpion man said. "About a hundred miles from here. Now I am afraid I must be off."

"Not so fast," Enrique said, and stabbed the scorpion man in the chest. While it disintegrated he spoke to it. "When you come back tell Lycaon that we're getting our friends back. And we will _never_ surrender."


	14. Chapter 14

Please review.

Chapter 14-

The scene was eerily reminiscent of that before the raid, Enrique was thinking. They were back on the desert. There was a group in front of him of scared, determined heroes. Except this time there was one big difference-they had no plan. They were going freestyle, and that made Enrique uneasy.

There were other changes to the group. A few campers from Camp Half-Blood had come. Chris Rodriguez, Jake Mason, the Stoll siblings Travis and Connor, Grover Underwood the satyr, and Drew had all volunteered to come.

On the whole, the newcomers were welcomed with open arms by their friends. There was some obvious tension, however. Namely, Piper and Drew. They were just about always arguing, and when they weren't it was because they were glaring at each other, which led to just more arguing.

The only Egyptian campers that were coming along were Sandra and Justin. Enrique had refused to allow any others to put themselves at risk, especially Johnny, who was seriously burned.

"Ok," Enrique told his group. "I'm going to get us right to the spot. We go in guns blazing, hopefully find everyone and get out. Everyone take your weapons out."

Enrique teleported them to what was clearly a military camp. There was a multitude of tents surrounding them. However, it appeared to be empty.

"This isn't right," He said softly. "It shouldn't be empty."

"It isn't," A voice snarled, and the group fell to the ground. The sand and tents disappeared. They were in a forest clearing surrounded by trees. A pack of wolves came out of the woods, accompanied by numerous scorpion men. At the head of the pack was a man.

"Lycaon," Annabeth whispered.

"Attack-" Enrique began, but Lycaon cut him off.

"What happened to civility? We haven't even told you what we want."

"Yeah, you have. You want us to surrender. Which isn't going to happen." Enrique retorted.

"Oh, but it will." Lycaon responded smoothly. All of a sudden, a group of scorpion men and wolves came out of the woods beside him, dragging their struggling lost friends along with them. Lycaon snapped his fingers, and each of the scorpion pulled one of their friends close and put a demigod neck in front of their mouth. The struggling ceased.

"They could be dead with a word," Lycaon said. "Would you have that happen when it could be prevented?"

"Let them go, Lycaon." Enrique said. The sight of his friends in danger brought back memories. Painful, frightening memories.

"When you surrender."

"How about me and you fight? One on one. Or are you too much of a coward?"

"You speak rashly, boy. You believe that the power of Apophis will protect you from everything. Not likely. I accept your challenge. I presume you want the usual terms-if you win, your friends go free, blah blah blah."

"Yes."

"Very well. But be warned, I am immortal, you are not, and I have never been bested by a hero."

"Things change."

"Not today they won't." Lycaon snarled. With a gesture, he motioned his troops back into the woods. Enrique did the same.

"Now, no weapons, that's just unfair. And no magic. We fight with tooth and claw only." Lycaon jeered. Enrique nodded, and threw his scepter and sword to the ground. Justin and Sandra ran to pick them up. "If he cheats, kill them all," Lycaon commanded his soldiers.

Enrique extended his fingers, claws growing out of them. He bared his teeth, now sharpened.

"Is that the best you can do?" Lycaon asked tauntingly. He bared his own teeth, which were much longer and sharper, and howled. Than he ran at Enrique.

…**...Leo's Point of View...**

Enrique jumped in the air right before Lycaon hit him, and floated there, just out of the werewolf's reach. Lycaon snarled as Enrique landed on the other side of the clearing. They circled each other, and I was reminded of the fight me and Enrique had had what seemed like so long ago. Except this time, I was rooting for Enrique.

Lycaon got close to Enrique, who snapped at him with his claws. I'd never say it out loud, but I was kinda scared for the kid. The werewolf was one scary guy. And Enrique couldn't even use his new powers, which was kinda disappointing, but if it would get us killed than it wasn't worth it.

The grappled for a while, until Enrique managed to get a good swipe at Lycaon. Lycaon recoiled and clutched at his stomach, which was bleeding gold. Enrique stepped back, panting.

"You cannot kill me that easily, son of Egypt," The werewolf snarled, and jumped at Enrique, and slashed him on the shoulder, leaving four deep cuts. Justin instinctively stepped forward to medically help, but Lycaon growled at him. Enrique stepped back, his arm bleeding horribly.

Lycaon wasn't about to stop there. He ran at Enrique again, and I had a bad feeling that this time the wolf man would get lucky and actually kill him. Enrique just stood there, his arm hanging limply.

Lycaon was getting closer. Suddenly, Enrique ran to meet him, catching him by surprise. Enrique threw him against a tree, and I heard something crack. Enrique jumped onto the werewolf king, pinning him down. They were right in front of me.

Lycaon was struggling, but Enrique was stronger. He held him down.

"Father," Enrique whispered. "Grant me this power," He closed his eyes. He placed his hand on Lycaon's head, and the wolf man stopped moving.

"What are you doing?" He asked. Enrique didn't answer him.

The cloth bandages around Enrique's wrists were unraveling, but either they were magically growing or were a lot longer than they appeared, because they kept going. They traveled down Lycaon's body, wrapping the king up like a mummy, starting from the feet. Lycaon's eyes were wide with fear and raw hatred.

"You can send me away," He seethed. "The Earth Mother will spit me right back out again,"

"Not from where you're going," Enrique hissed. This time, there was only fear in Lycaon's eyes. And then the bandages covered his face and head. Enrique let out a deep breath. He jumped back and stared intently at the mummy.

A column of fire engulfed Lycaon's body, except it wasn't my kind of fire. The flames were black, a kind of negative light. In a few seconds, there was nothing left. Lycaon's essence had been dissolved. In awe, I looked at Enrique, whose cloth bandage bracelets were still intact.

His sword and scepter were given to him. He looked expectantly at the scorpion men who were holding our friends hostage.

"You know the terms," He spat. A scorpion looked at him.

"Our master's oath died with him." He said. "Which means its lunch time."

He was about to take a bite out of his hostage, which was Thalia, but Enrique vaporized him with a blast of dark green-blue energy. With the same power, he whisked the hostages away. He turned a moment to Justin and Sandra.

"GO!" He yelled at them. They nodded, but they seemed uneasy. Monsters began closing in on us. With their scepters, they created a magic net to carry us, and we flied away. Apparently they didn't know the same teleporting tricks as Enrique. I looked down, expecting to see him following us.

He wasn't there.

Enrique was still on the ground, blasting waves of monsters with bright flashes of energy. But there were too many of them, and he was just one person. He was surrounded. They kept closing in, forming an increasingly tight ring around him. He stopped fighting to watch us go, and saluted us. Then he abandoned the magic and began fighting with his sword.

Moments later, he was overrun by monsters. He went down under a pile of scorpion men and wolves. A single bolt of incinerating energy rose into the sky, and then there was no more movement or signs of life. I heard whoops and yells from the scorpion men below.

"No," I whispered.

"He's gone," Nico said softly. "I just felt it."

We all looked at each other, realizing the inevitable truth. Enrique was dead.


	15. Chapter 15

Please review. Percy's point of view.

Chapter 15-

All nine of us were back at Camp Half-Blood. The Egyptians had given their word that they would support us in the war against Gaia.

"He died to make sure you guys got away. We will honor that." Sandra had said in a reserved tone of voice. Justin had nodded in agreement.

Enrique's death and the events of the past week had affected us all. Leo especially was quiet. He had respected the guy, which you couldn't say about everyone.

We told Chiron every detail of what had happened since we left camp. He had responded grimly to the news, but was pleased that we had ensured the Egyptian's aid. At the campfire, everyone pestered us about this newest quest. They were silent out of respect, but I could tell Enrique's sacrifice hadn't really affected them. But then again, they only knew him from when he attacked the camp.

Now I was sitting on the beach with Annabeth, just watching the waves. I was considering visiting Tyson, and maybe even showing Annabeth around my dad's palace, but Chiron was strict in that he wanted all of us close by.

The sun set with a green flash.

"A green flash," I said. Maybe another day I would have been amazed, but right now it was just a sight. "I thought that only happened in movies." Annabeth nodded. Suddenly I started. "They _do_ only happen in movies." I turned around. A figure was walking toward us.

"Sorry to intrude," He said softly. He leaned on his walking stick.

"No problem," I said, getting up. Annabeth did likewise, and took a step back.

"You're-you should be-" She said, struggling to find words.

"Dead? Let's just say I'm friendly with the Grim Reaper." The figure said. Suddenly Annabeth and I were smiling.

Yeah, Enrique was back.


	16. Chapter 16

Percy's point of view. Please review, and thanks again to everyone who has. This is the last chapter for this FF. The continuation of this storyline is Skyborn.

Chapter 16-

Enrique was welcomed back with shock, awe, and relief.

"I saw them kill you, though!" Leo said, giving the guy a bro hug. Nico especially was stupefied.

"But-but..." He struggled to find words, until he finally gave up and welcomed Enrique back.

"I hope you told your camp," Rachel said calmly.

"First people I went to," Enrique answered. "No offense."

"I never got a chance to thank you," Jason said. Enrique nodded. Suddenly, he yawned.

"Is there anywhere I can crash?" He asked. "I'm more tired than you would believe."

Chiron, who was watching all of this nodded.

"There's a guest room upstairs in the Big House."

Enrique nodded.

"Catch you guys later."

…...**Third Person narration...**

Enrique dreamt of a dark room deep underground. He couldn't see anything.

"Is anyone there?" He called. A voice chuckled, a deep hoarse noise that grated on his soul.

"You know that answer, Enrique," The voice said. Suddenly, the lights went on. He was in the room where the weighing of the heart against the feather was done. He was standing in front of the altar. "Behind you, boy," The voice commanded, and Enrique turned around, slowly. He was facing a serpent, a gigantic serpent head with six red eyes glowing in triumph. It's mouth didn't move when it spoke, but Enrique knew the voice was coming from the snake, the demon snake Apophis.

"Welcome back, Enrique," It said. "Aren't you going to thank me?"

"You?"

"Don't pretend that you haven't already guessed. I brought you back. We are one now, Enrique. Ever since you took my power, my essence, and unified it with yours. And what a smart move that was. Otherwise you'd never have been able to come back and serve Gaia."

"I will never serve the Earth Mother." Enrique retorted. Apophis chuckled.

"Never comes sooner than you might think," It said. "Take a look at the back of your hands."

Despite himself, Enrique did as he was told. There was a black circle etched into his skin on both hands.

"That is a reminder," Apophis snarled. "A reminder to be mindful of what you do, for the day will come when I will start...asking...you for favors. I know your soul, Enrique Leon, I held it and placed it back into your body when it was ready. And they are both mine now, child. Especially your heart. You wouldn't want that to be placed on the scale, would you? Not now that it is tainted."

"You let me take your power," Enrique said accusingly.

"Of course I did," The demon responded. "It is all part of the plan. _Gaia's_ plan. But you don't need to know that right now. Off with you, boy. We will meet again."

Enrique's eyes narrowed.

"No matter what happens, I will not serve you. I won't betray my friends." The serpent's eyes twinkled.

"In time," It murmured. "In time you will do anything and everything. We put you back together, Enrique, and we're going to tear you back apart..."

…...

Jason and Piper sat on top of Zeus' fist, watching the camp play a celebratory game of capture the flag.

"Things are going to be different now," She said. It was a statement of fact. "New kind of demigods to worry about."

"At least their on our side. And Enrique is back. That has to count for something."

"It just scared me how easily those monsters separated us. You almost got killed."

"Almost. We need to put the past behind us, start thinking about the future. We've got to make sure Gaia is defeated. And then-"

"And then what?" Piper asked. Jason took a deep breath, but before he could speak a camper stepped out of the woods. It was Percy.

"Jason, Piper. Theres a new half-blood." Percy said hurriedly.

"Where?" Jason asked.

"He just landed on our side of the hill. You coming?" He asked. Piper and Jason looked at each other.

"Let's go meet the new kid," Piper said.


End file.
